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[endoric]

I want to like this game, but here is the but.  It is so impersonal.  Maybe i have no imagination but i can not fall in love with ASCII based representations.  I hear there is some sort of isometric mod to alter the game, which one is suggested.  Also is the only way to interact with the game via keyboard?

I just found it very hard to get interested in this game but i will give it a chance if i can.

[Talvieno]

It's not for everyone. I've been playing over a year and love it, but some people can't get past the learning curve. Personally, I used the Lazy Newb Pack (adds tilesets, isometric graphics (stonesense), music, sound, and some other things) for a few months before I got into the ASCII. Tilesets are a good option if you initially find the ASCII a bit too hard to overcome. If the ASCII is your issue, then yes, by all means, use the Lazy Newb Pack. (It sounds derogatory, but it really isn't. It's just all the best mods gathered into one place.) Link here.

Yes, the only way to interact with the game is via keyboard, except for a few places. You can designate areas to be dug with the mouse, for example. The UI is, by itself, unimpressive, but that's because the game is written by one person, and that one person decided gameplay and detail were more important than superficial things like graphics and fancy GUI. (or, let's be honest, much GUI at all.)

If you find it difficult to get interested, and if you haven't yet, read Boatmurdered. It's a Let's Play hosted at lparchive.org: Link here. Many DF players consider it the greatest DF story ever told, and it works wonders at helping a new player understand the game.

Some players don't really play much, and instead just love the community for the stories and fiction that DF produces. If this might be you, I'd suggest you head to the Community Games and Stories board at some point: Link here. It's a lurker's paradise, honestly, and it also offers plenty of opportunities to play games with other people.


If none of the above sounds like something you're interested in, then it might simply not be your type of game. Every game has its fans, as well as people who just can't get into it. Assassin's Creed, for example, can't keep my attention long enough for me to finish it - I find it too repetitive, though I understand many other people greatly enjoy it. If you don't like DF in the end, then hey - at least you gave it a shot.

[TKGP]

The isometric visualizer is Stonesense, which is included in the DFHack package. It's purely for visualizing the fortress though, you can't actually play through it (yet!).
If you'd like to get rid of the ASCII, there are several custom tile/graphic sets you can install. There's a short list of them here.
Lastly on the topic of control, the keyboard is pretty much all you get. Features in the (d)esignation menu support mouse-clicking to select areas, but not much else does.

Fake edit: blast, I've been ninja'd. Comprehensively so, at that!

[itisnotlogical]

If it's your first time, may I recommend Adventure mode? It still requires a bit of learning, but the learning curve is a lot gentler than that of fortress mode.

Adventurers are typically very shortlived- while you can have an extremely long-lived fort in a nonthreatening biome, most adventure characters die or receive crippling injuries after a handful of sessions. The tradeoff is that you get in to the action much much quicker: quests are usually quickly acquired and quickly completed.

Personally, I find that Adventure mode characters are a lot more dear to me than dwarves in Fortress mode. While you can read a dwarf's description and see their personality, you don't interact with them in a meaningful way. Adventuring offers you the chance to be in the midst of events as they are in motion, which I feel makes for a more compelling emotional experience than managing the lives of 80+ dwarves.

Of course, this is all IMHO and maybe you'll grow to love fortress mode. I certainly had my problems with it when I first started playing Dwarf Fortress.

[werty892]

The Masterwork mod pack has some kind of utility that allows you to use the mouse alot more with Dwarf Fortress. It lest you place furniture, look around, etc.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Want help relating with the dwarves?
Read over each of your Starting Seven's personalities and such, and give them names. This miner likes cats and is fat like Aunt Bertha, I'll name her Bertha. This guy likes demons, I'll name him [insert name of politician you dislike].
Every so often, pause and look around. What's Bertha doing? Oh, she's sad from not having a bedroom. [Politician] is sleeping in the same tile as her, that's probably part of it.
Make up a story as you go along.

Eventually, it'll happen without you thinking about it. Then you can watch a story you create with the help or hindrance of those little smiley faces unfold.

[endoric]

Wow guys I give you 12 out of 10 stars for a super friendly major helpful gaming community.  I was so expecting to be flamed and torn apart for being GUI and graphically biased and lacking an imagination.  Instead you guys were actually helpful.  Very good work if I was a secret shopper you would all get gold stars, but sadly all you get is a new noob with more questions that have probably been asked a dozen times before.

I promise to use e forum search function before I ask a question one out of every three times.

[AutomataKittay]

Wow guys I give you 12 out of 10 stars for a super friendly major helpful gaming community.  I was so expecting to be flamed and torn apart for being GUI and graphically biased and lacking an imagination.  Instead you guys were actually helpful.  Very good work if I was a secret shopper you would all get gold stars, but sadly all you get is a new noob with more questions that have probably been asked a dozen times before.

I promise to use e forum search function before I ask a question one out of every three times.

Most of us remembers how difficult it can be to get used to the game. Well, hell, some of us STILL does beyond the UI and visuals

If you have trouble in fortress mode, ask up in dwarf mode board and we can try to help!

I'd also advise giving Dwarf Therapist a shot for managing dwarves in fortress mode ( I've never used it personally, but I see many being happy with it ).

If you're playing fortress mode, I can suggest turning invader off and artifact off in /data/init/d_init.txt ( putting NO instead of YES for INVADER: and ARTIFACT: ) so you can get on your feet learning to play the game. You'll need to save/quit for those changes to take effect, and you can turn them on later when you feels prepared!

Same for POPULATION_CAP, which I advises to reduce to around 20 or 50 for more managable amount of dwarves, and reducing the last number in BABY_CHILD_CAP to 10 for 10% birth rate to manage the child boom easier.

[misko27]

Wow guys I give you 12 out of 10 stars for a super friendly major helpful gaming community.  I was so expecting to be flamed and torn apart for being GUI and graphically biased and lacking an imagination.  Instead you guys were actually helpful.  Very good work if I was a secret shopper you would all get gold stars, but sadly all you get is a new noob with more questions that have probably been asked a dozen times before.

I promise to use e forum search function before I ask a question one out of every three times.

People do make those comments about us.
 
I also reccomend Adventure mode. It's somewhat less-developed, but it is far more personal. It will get alot better when the update comes.

[endoric]

OK I LIKE THIS GAME!

[10ebbor10]

There's also the lazy newb pack, which includes a handy init manager, and some basic utilities as well as tilesets.

[endoric]

yes i like the lazy noob pack.  very handy.  i love dwarf therapist.  i think i spend too much time in there.

[Azated]

yes i like the lazy noob pack.  very handy.  i love dwarf therapist.  i think i spend too much time in there.

I don't think I'd be able to play the game if it wasn't for DT.

[laularukyrumo]

This. A thousand times this.

Literally I would not be able to play DF if it weren't for Dwarf The Rapist. Not even a little bit. If I didn't have access to it, and I looked at the 50 new incoming migrants in the 3rd wave, I would just crap my pants, and then ragequit the entire game.

[endoric]

This. A thousand times this.

Literally I would not be able to play DF if it weren't for Dwarf The Rapist.

OMG do not fix that typo its great!  reminds me of the Saturday night live Jeopardy skit with Sean Connery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htoFkn6S0H8  if someone can find a better video please do share

"Looks like its my lucky day.  I'll take The Rapists for 200."